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Wednesday - Sarah Walker with Antony Sher

With Sarah Walker. Including My Favourite Operatic Intermezzos; Music in Time: Milhaud: La creation du monde; Artist of the Week: Haydn: Symphony No 49 in D minor.

9am
My favourite... operatic intermezzos. In this new feature Sarah shares her top operatic intermezzos, highlighting the emotional directness and unforgettable melodies of these orchestral miniatures, tucked inside operas by Puccini, Wolf Ferrari, Offenbach, Leoncavallo and Mascagni.

9.30am
Take part in our daily musical challenge: can you work out which two composers are associated with a particular piece?

10am
At the start of the year that marks 400 years since Shakespeare's death, Sarah's guest is the Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor Antony Sher. Antony is a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has acted many of the Bard's most famous roles, from Richard III to Falstaff. He has written a number of books recording the stages of researching, rehearsing and performing great Shakespearean parts, offering a behind the scenes look at the Royal Shakespeare Company at work. Throughout the week Antony shares a selection of his favourite classical music, talks about bringing Mahler to life on the stage and explains how he is preparing for his starring role in King Lear.

10.30am
Sarah places Music in Time. Today, the focus is on the Modern age. In 1922 Darius Milhaud travelled to New York to mingle with the jazz musicians of Harlem. What he heard was "absolutely different from anything I had ever heard before... a revelation" - and the result, on his return to France, was his riotous ballet, La Creation du Monde.

11am
Sarah's Artists of the Week are the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. When they started out in 1986, this unique period instrument band decided to throw away the orchestral rulebook. They were self-governing, their leaders rotated, and they worked with a range of conductors. Despite their name, they are keen to explore a wide repertoire, from Monteverdi to Mahler and beyond; and their four Principal Artists are Sir Simon Rattle, Ivan Fischer, Sir Mark Elder and Vladimir Jurowski. To celebrate the orchestra's thirtieth anniversary year, Sarah showcases a range of their recordings, demonstrating their diversity, artistry, and the brilliantly incisive, colourful style of playing.

Haydn
Symphony No.49 in D minor, "La passione"
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Frans Bruggen (conductor).

3 hours

Last on

Wed 13 Jan 2016 09:00

Music Played

  • George Gershwin

    I got rhythm

    Performer: Angela Brownridge.
    • HYPERION.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Divertimento in C major, H.4.1

    Performer: Wilbert Hazelzet. Performer: Marion Moonen. Performer: Barbara Kernig.
    • BERLIN CLASSICS.
  • MY FAVOURITE...OPERATIC INTERMEZZOS

    • Jacques Offenbach

      Barcarolle (The Tales of Hoffmann)

      Orchestra: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Conductor: Richard Bonynge.
      • DECCA.
  • Gioachino Rossini

    String Sonata No 4 in B flat major

    Performer: Elizabeth Wallfisch. Performer: Marshall Marcus. Performer: Richard Tunnicliffe. Performer: Chi-Chi Nwanoku.
    • HELIOS.
  • Domenico Scarlatti

    Sonata in E, K380

    Performer: Mikhail Pletnev.
    • VIRGIN CLASSICS.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Divertimento in F major for winds, K.253

    Ensemble: Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists.
    • NAXOS.
  • William Byrd

    Ye sacred muses

    Singer: Robin Blaze. Ensemble: Concordia.
    • HYPERION.
  • Thomas Tallis

    Libera nos, salva nos

    Performer: Christopher Wilson. Ensemble: Fretwork.
    • AMON RA.
  • ANTONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.1

    • Leonard Bernstein

      America (West Side Story)

      Singer: Rita Moreno. Singer: George Chakiris. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Johnny Green.
      • CBS.
  • ANTONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.2

    • Paul Englishby

      'Tavern Blues' (music for Henry IV)

  • ANTONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.3

    • George Butterworth

      The Banks of Green Willow

      Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Jeffrey Tate.
      • EMI.
  • Music in Time: Modern

    • Darius Milhaud

      La Creation du Monde

      Orchestra: Orchestre national de France. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.
      • EMI.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Tzigane (version for violin and piano)

    Performer: Augustin Dumay. Performer: Maria JoΓ£o Pires.
    • DG.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: THE ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

    • Joseph Haydn

      Symphony No 49 in F minor, 'La passione'

      Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Frans BrΓΌggen.
      • Philips.
  • Robert Schumann

    Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op 70

    Performer: Steven Isserlis. Performer: DΓ©nes VΓ΅rjon.
    • HYPERION.
  • Chiara Margarita Cozzolani

    Ave mater dilectissima (Dialogo)

    Ensemble: Cappella Artemisia. Director: Candace Smith.
    • Weep and Rejoice: Holy Week in 17th-Century Italian Convents.
    • Brilliant Classics.
    • 16.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Horn Concerto no.2 in E flat major K.417

    Performer: Timothy Brown. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Sigiswald Kuijken.
    • VIRGIN CLASSICS.

By Association

Answer: William Byrd and Thomas Tallis

The music played:

Byrd
Ye Sacred Muses
Robin Blaze (countertenor)
Concordia
HELIOS

Broadcast

  • Wed 13 Jan 2016 09:00

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